GSDC Announces 2016 Innovation Award Recipients

St. Cloud, MN, September 8, 2016 – The Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation (GSDC) announces the 2016 recipients of their Innovation Awards in for-profit organizations will go to GNP Company and Rollga. The recipients of the non-profit awards are Operation Baby New Year and the St. Cloud Youth Leadership Academy (SCYLA). Each awardee will receive $1,000. The organizations will be recognized at the upcoming Innovation Summit on October 13, 2016 at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud.

GNP Company will be receiving the for-profit Innovation Award for an established company for its Purified Water System pilot project at their state-of-the-art water treatment plant in Cold Spring, Minnesota. The Purified Water System improves the treated water quality utilizing ultra-filtration technologies and a multi-barrier approach to treating waste water to a very high standard. If adopted long-term, this system could allow the company to reuse water up to five times, potentially reducing their groundwater withdrawals by 80 percent. This would lessen the operation’s impact on local water resources and infrastructure, increasing capacity for the local municipality and its users. More information can be found at www.gnpcompany.com.

Rollga will receive the for-profit Innovation Award for an emerging company for their patented foam roller. With its unique design, Rollga is used to relieve muscle and joint pains, stiffness and lack of mobility. When used, the foam roller bypasses the bone structure, such as the spine, shins and hips, to unlock hard to access trigger points. It also allows for muscle displacement to ensure the muscle fibers are guided and protected from damaging shifts and pressure. Rollga is sold in all 50 states, Israel, Australia, Canada, Japan, China, United Kingdom, and South Africa. More information can be found at www.rollga.com.

Operation Baby New Year will receive one of two Innovation Awards for non-profit organizations for utilizing grassroots resources and relational community organizing to raise tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of a high demand commodity, diapers, for families in crisis. It has created a regional dialogue about an under discussed and serious issue (diaper assistance) on behalf of the organizations who provide shelter and assistance for individuals and families in need. Operation Baby New Year is not one organization, but a coalition of many. It is a collaboration of community members, local businesses, and communities of faith who provide diapers to organizations who are on the front lines of poverty and homelessness every day. More information can be found at www.operationbabynewyear.com.

The St. Cloud Youth Leadership Academy (SCYLA) will be receiving an Innovation Award for a non-profit organization for their youth intervention initiative. Through this program, ten St. Cloud police officers work with twenty at-risk male youth between the ages of 13 and 16 years. Participants are selected in partnership with the St. Cloud School. District, ISD 742. Its primary purpose is to develop responsible and responsive citizens by offering support to, building relationships with, and mentoring youth in the St. Cloud and greater St. Cloud area. SCYLA begins with a one-week camp and continues afterward with regular gatherings and contacts between SCYLA's participants and the police officers involved in the program. More information can be found at www.ci.stcloud.mn.us/1120/Youth-Leadership-Academy-SCYLA.

The GSDC Innovation Summit recognizes innovation in our region with the Innovation Awards, showcases regional innovation across sectors with the Great Ideas Expo, and educates about creating a culture of innovation in the workplace. A keynote presentation by Nancy Lyons, CEO of Clockwork (www.nancylyons.com) will kick off this year’s summit program and the cast of the Theater of Public Policy (www.t2p2.com) will lead interactive programming around innovation. The event lasts from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There is no cost to attend but registration is required. A link to registration is at www.greaterstcloud.com.

The GSDC Innovation Summit and Awards are led by the GSDC Innovation Corps, the focus of which is to support new technologies, products, markets and companies.

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The Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation serves the interests of Benton, Sherburne, and Stearns counties in central Minnesota, including the cities of Sartell, Saint Cloud, St. Augusta, St. Joseph, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park, MN